VOL. IV, No. 10 


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University of North Carolina 
Extension Leaflet 

STUDIES IN AMERICAN 
LITERATURE 

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STUDIES IN AMERICAN 
LITERATURE 

By CLARENCE ADDISON If IBBARD, A. M. 

Assistant Professor of English in the University of North Carolina 



CHAPEL HILL 

PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY 
1921 




COPYRIGHT, 1921 
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©C1A619547CL 


STUDIES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PAGE 

1. A Word of Explanation 5 

2. First Meeting: Our Nature Writers 6 

3. Second Meeting: Nathaniel Hawthorne 9 

4. Third Meeting: Ralph Waldo Emerson 11 

5. Fourth Meeting: Four New England Poets 13 

6. Fifth Meeting : Some American Humorists 16 

7. Sixth Meeting: Two Poets of the South 18 

8. Seventh Meeting: Walt Whitman 20 

9. Eighth Meeting : Lafcadio Hearn 23 

10. Ninth Meeting: The American Novel 25 

11. Tenth Meeting: The Short Story 27 

12. Eleventh Meeting: The Short Story (Continued) 29 

13. Twelfth Meeting : The New Poetry 32 

14. Thirteenth Meeting: “Americans by Adoption” 35 

15. Fourteenth Meeting: Contemporary Books of Travel 37 

16. Fifteenth Meeting : Contemporary Literary Magazines 39 

17. Sixteenth Meeting: Contemporary Literary Magazines (Cont.) 41 

18. Bibliography 43 

19. Terms for Course ’ 46 



STUDIES IN AMERICAN 
LITERATURE 

A WORD OF EXPLANATION 

The suggestions for study made in this program are in no 
sense to be construed as a syllabus of American literature. All 
of the books and selections cited for study are drawn from our 
literature of the last hundred years and make no pretense at 
being all-inclusive or even consecutive in their arrangement. It 
is, however, hoped that the student who consistently follows the 
reading here outlined will learn something of the life and writ- 
ing of more than fifty of the outstanding figures in our history 
of letters. The one purpose that has been kept in mind has been 
that of affording both a pleasant and an instructive journey 
through “the realms of gold.” 

The last half of the program frankly emphasizes modern 
and contemporary literature. This is done not because of any 
deep-rooted assurance that our current writing is to prove per- 
manent, but in the belief that literature draws its greatest inspira- 
tion from life as it passes and lives only insofar as it fairly 
represents the ideals, the struggles, and the aspirations of those 
who are with it in the making. It is at once our pleasure and 
our serious duty to help in the winnowing. 

The outlines which are suggested for each paper are obviously 
scant. They are made so deliberately. Were the plans worked 
out in detail they would be either so complete as to do the work 
for the club woman or serve, in the difficulty of getting books, 
completely to confuse her. To the writer it has seemed better 
simply to suggest general schemes of development, leaving the 
person responsible for the paper to mould the materials she can 
get to hand in the best way possible. 

It may be well, also, to call the attention to the fact that, 
while the programs are worked out on the “paper” basis, there 
is no reason why these plans may not be used by the club mem- 
ber working alone. In that case it would seem well, however, to 
keep some sort of formal notebook for conclusions reached and 
facts ascertained. C. A. H. 

Chapel Hill, 

May 1, 1921. 


STUDIES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE 


FIRST MEETING 

Date Place 

General Topic: Our Nature Writers. 

Though it was certainly true that our earliest writers on Na- 
ture were influenced by English traditions and certain aspects of 
English Romanticism, American literature has, in more recent 
years, taken on a character which is essentially her own. The 
spirit of this independence is well expressed by William Cullen 
Bryant in a letter to his brother John who had written some 
lines to a skylark : 

“Did you ever see such a bird? Let me counsel you to draw your 
images, in describing Nature, from what you observe around you. . . . 

The skylark is an English bird, and an American who has never visited 
Europe has no right to be in raptures about it.” 

Bryant himself ushered in this new enthusiasm for American 
nature and left us a heritage which such men as Lowell, Whit- 
tier, Timrod, Lanier, Hayne, Sill, Tabb, Miller, and Cawein have 
been glad to enrich by their poetry as have Audubon, Thoreau, 
Muir, and Burroughs by their prose. 

First Paper: By 

Subject: Henry David Thoreau. 

Thoreau, a member of the Concord group and a transcendentalist, carried 
the individuality taught by that group into such happy extreme as 
to make him our preeminent nature writer. The most attractive 
phase of his career is that which found him living his life of semi- 
isolation in his cabin on Walden Pond, an experiment which he has 
immortalized in his book Walden published in 1854. 

a. Biographical facts in the life of Thoreau. 

b. Thoreau as an interpreter of Nature. 

c. Walden, an appreciation. 

Some References for this Paper: 

Salt, Life of Henry David Thoreau. 

Pattee, History of American Literature, pp. 171-88. 


6 


Wendell, Literary History of America, pp. 332-7. 

Cambridge History of American Literature, Vol. II, Book 2, Chap. X. 

Thoreau, Walden. (A good edition is that in the Riverside Literature 
Series published by Houghton Mifflin at $.64.) 

Second Paper : By 

Subject : John Muir. 

“Come with me along the glaciers and see God making landscapes !” is 
the sort of appeal that John Muir makes in his writings. His 
work most particularly concerns itself with out-of-doors in the 
West: he has been called “The psalmist of the Sierras.” Books 
representative of this phase of his life are: Our National Parks 
and My First Summer in the Sierras. 

a. Biographical facts in the life of Muir. 

b. Muir as a nature writer. 

Some References for this Paper: 

Muir, The Story of My Boyhood and Youth. 

Muir, Our National Parks. 

Muir, My First Summer in the Sierras. 

Muir, The Mountains of California. 

Pattee, History of American Literature Since 1870, pp. 154-9. 

The Atlantic Monthly, vol. 110: pp. 813-25. Dec. 1912. Plunge Into the 
Wilderness, a paper by John Muir. 

The Century, vol. 80: pp. 521-8. Aug. 1910. With John o’Birds and John 
o’ Mountains in the Southwest, by Clara Barrus. 

Third Paper: By 

Subject: John Burroughs. 

During fifty years of writing Burroughs wrote himself to a position as 
dean of our school of nature writers. To Theodore Roosevelt he 
was “Our greatest nature lover and nature writer.” It is to his 
earlier work that the general reader will turn with more interest 
since here his more spontaneous and typical writing is found. 

a. Biographical facts in the life of Burroughs. 

b. Burroughs as an interpreter of nature. 

Some References for this Paper: 

Burroughs, Wake-Robin. 

Burroughs, Locusts and Wild Honey. 

Burroughs, Birds and Poets. 

Pattee, History of American Literature Since 1870, pp. 146-54. 

Atlantic Monthly, vol. 106: pp. 631-41. Nov. 1910. Fifty Years of John 
Burroughs, by Dallas Lore Sharp. 


7 


Century, vol. 54: pp. 560-8. August 1897. John Burroughs, by Hamilton 
Wright Mabie. 

Outlook, vol. 109: pp. 224-30. Jan. 27, 1915. John Burroughs and his 
Haunts, by Albert H. Pratt. 

Selections from Century Readings for Group Study : 

Thoreau: Walden, “Higher Laws” p. 368; “Brute Neighbors” p. 373; and 
“Conclusions” p. 379. 

Muir : The Water Ousel, p. 771 ; Wind Storm, p. 778 ; Echo Lake, p. 782. 
Burroughs : Fuss and Feathers, p. 633 ; Nature Lore, p. 637. 


8 


SECOND MEETING 


Date Place 

General Topic: Nathaniel Hawthorne. 

That such a critic as Lowell should have seen fit to call Haw- 
thorne “The greatest imaginative genius since Shakespeare” is 
reason enough for his inclusion in a consideration of this kind. 
From at least three angles, — Puritanism, the short story, and the 
novel — Hawthorne is of vital significance to American literature. 

First Paper: By 

Subject : Hawthorne the Man. 

a. Biographical facts in the life of Hawthorne. 

1. Early environment and its relation to his writing. 

2. His brief career as a government official. 

3. His isolation. 

b. Character and personality. 

Some References for this Paper: 

Woodberry, Nathaniel Hazvthorne (American Men of Letters Series). 
Stearn, F. P., The Life and Genius of Hawthorne. 

Brownell, American Prose Masters, pp. 63-130. 

Burton, Literary Leaders of America, pp. 99-134. 

Macy, Spirit of American Literature, pp. 77-96. 

Pattee, History of American Literature, pp. 240-56. 

Hawthorne, Julian, Hawthorne and His Circle. 

More, Paul Elmer, Shelburn Essays, The Solitude of Hawthorne. 

Swift, Brook Farm. 

Second Paper : By 

Subject: Hawthorne the Writer of Short Stories. 

a. Atmosphere in Hawthorne’s stories. 

b. Hawthorne’s short story technique. 

c. Hawthorne’s relationship to the American short story. 

Some References for this Paper: 

For “a” and “ b ” of this outline the best preparation will come from a care- 
ful consideration of such stories as The Birthmark, The Artist of the 
Beautiful, Rappaccini’s Daughter (these three in Mosses from an 
Old Manse) and The Ambitious Guest, The White Old Maid, Wake- 
field, Ethan Brand (these four to be found in Twice-Told Tales). 
For “c” see the first six references cited for the first paper and 
Canby, Short Story in English. 


9 


Poe, Review of Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales in any edition of Poe’s 
complete works. 

Pattee, History of American Literature, pp. 251-3. 

Richardson, American Literature, vol. 2, pp. 346-58. 

Third Paper: By 

Subject : Hawthorne the Novelist. 

a. Qualities of thought common to the novels. 

1. Puritanism. 

2. Moral element. 

3. Criminology studies. 

4. New England life. 

b. Reviews of The Scarlet Letter, The House of Seven Gables, and The 

Marble Faun. 

Note: For the second part of this paper the three novels might well be 
assigned to three different people for review if the work appears 
too onerous for one to present. 

Some References for this Paper: 

Woodberry, Stearn, Burton, Macy, Pattee as cited for first paper. In 
addition : 

Erskine, Leading American Novelists, pp. 224-52. 

Atlantic, vol. 57, pp. 471-85, April 1886. Problems of “The Scarlet Letter 
by Julian Hawthorne. 

Atlantic, vol. 93, pp. 521-35. April 1904. Notes on “The Scarlet Letter ” 
by T. T Monger. 

Pattee, Century Readings in American Literature, p. 211. Hawthorne’s 
Preface to The House of Seven Gables. 

Selections from Century Readings for Group Study : 

David Swan, p. 200, The Birthmark, p. 203, The Great Stone Face, p. 211. 


10 


THIRD MEETING 


Date Place 

General Topic: Ralph Waldo Emerson. 

Preacher, lecturer, poet, philosopher, and writer on nature, 
Emerson presents, in a sense, the greatest that America has given 
the world in the way of literature. Though not intimately as- 
sociated with the more fantastic manifestations of the trans- 
cendentalists, Emerson was the chief spokesman for the group 
and gave a serious and philosophical tone to the movement which 
has made its influences carry over to the present. 

First Paper: By 

Subject: Emerson and Transcendentalism. 

a. Biographical facts in the life of Emerson. 

(His resignation from the ministry deserves rather careful 
consideration). 

b. The teachings of transcendentalism : 

A concise account of transcendentalism and its doctrines is to be found 
in Barrett Wendell’s A Literary History of America , pp. 290-310. 
After the broader aspects of the subject have been mastered, one 
should turn to O. B. Frothingham’s Transcendentalism in New Eng- 
land or H. C. Goddard’s Studies in New England Transcendental- 
ism for details. In order that the question may be concretely 
presented, it would be well to work out a list of characteristics of 
the movement and its doctrines ; such a list will serve to show 
definitely what the spirit of the group was. 

1. Brook Farm: 

Any account in a good encyclopedia will give one the general 
facts as to Brook Farm, its people, its life, and its failure, 
but the paper would be the more pleasing from the “human 
interest” point of view were one to make use of incidents intro- 
duced by Lindsay Swift in his Brook Farm. Frothingham, 
cited above, on pp. 171-174 reproduces Hawthorne’s own 
account of his experiences at the New England Utopia. 

2. The Dial : 

The brief career of this organ of the transcendentalists is 
sketched in all of the three books from mentioned above. 

(Note: In addition to the references cited, one would do well to read the 
biography of Emerson by Oliver Wendell Holmes.) 


11 


Second Paper: By, 


Subject: Emerson as Poet. 

A necessary precaution in this paper is that one should not attempt to 
consider too much of Emerson’s poetry. A judicious selection will 
serve to show most of the qualities of the man as a poet as well as 
the particular trend of his thought. Each and All, The Sphinx, The 
World-Soul, The Rhodora, The Problem, Brahma, Woodnotes I 
and II, and Days are fairly representative, but others may be added 
by choice. 

a. Emerson’s qualities as a poet. 

b. Nature in Emerson’s poetry. 

c. The philosophy of Emerson’s poetry. 

Some References for this Paper: 

Stedman, Poets of America, pp. 133-79. 

Pattee, History of American Literature, pp. 208-20. 

Trent, History of American Literature, pp. 323-36. 

Burton, Literary Leaders of America, pp. 135-63. 

Long, American Literature, pp. 318-37. 

Third Paper: By 

Subject: Emerson, as Essayist. 

As for the second paper of this meeting, one ought to direct attention to 
certain representative selections. The gist of Emerson’s prose writ- 
ings will be found in a list of essays which includes Self-Reliance, 
The Over-Soul, Nature, Circles, and The American Scholar. 

a. Emerson’s qualities as an essayist. 

b. The philosophy of Emerson’s essays. 

Some References for this Paper: 

See citations above and 

Brownell, American Prose Masters, pp. 133-204. 

Wendell, Literary History of America, pp. 311-27. 

Atlantic Monthly, vol. 91 : pp. 884-55, June 1903. 

Eliot, Emerson as Seer. 

Scribner’s Magazine, vol. 46 : pp. 608-24. Nov. 1909. 

Brownell, Emerson. 

Selections from Century Readings for Group Study : 

Each and all, The Rhodora, The Humble-Bee, The Snow-Storm, Forbear- 
ance, Brahma, The American Scholar, Self-Reliance. 


12 


FOURTH MEETING 


Date Place 

General Topic: Four New England Poets. 

Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes, Lowell : thirty years ago these 
four names to the average American meant almost the whole of 
American poetry. Not only were they leading figures themselves, 
but they set the standard for lesser men for fifty years. 

First Paper: By 

Subject : Longfellow and Whittier. 

a. Brief biographical sketches of the two men. 

b . The chief contributions of each to our literature. 

1. Thought. 

2. Longfellow as poet of childhood and of American history. 

3. Whittier as poet of nature, religion, anti-slavery, and writer of 

ballads and legends. 

4. The New England element in these men. 

c. Appreciation and estimate of one or two important poems of each. 

Some References for this Paper: 

Longfellow : 

Higginson, T. W., Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (American Men 
of Letters Series). 

More, P. E., Shelburne Essays, vol. 5. pp. 132-157. 

Burton, Literary Leaders of America, pp. 183-203. 

Macy, Spirit of American Literature, pp. 97-110. 

Pattee, History of American Literature, pp. 259-73. 

Stedman, Poets of America, pp. 180-224. 

Trent, History of American Literature, pp. 395-408. 

Wendell, Literary History of America, pp. 378-92. 

Cambridge History of American Literature, vol. 2. book II, chap, 
xii, pp. 32-42. 

Whittier : 

Carpenter, G. R., John Greenleaf Whittier (American Men of Let- 
ters Series). 

Higginson, T. W., John Greenleaf Whittier (English Men of Let- 
ters Series). 

Pickard, S. T., Life and Letters of J. G. Whittier. 

Burton, Literary Leaders of America, pp. 221-40. 

Pattee, History of American Literature, pp. 333-44. 

Stedman, Poets of America, pp. 95-132. 

Trent, History of American Literature, pp. 408-19. 


13 


Wendell, Literary History of America, pp. 358-69. 

Atlantic Monthly, vol. 70 : pp. 642-8, Nov. 1892, John Greenleaf Whit- 
tier, by George E. Woodberry. 

Atlantic Monthly, vol. 100: pp. 851-9, Dec. 1907. Whittier for To- 
day, by Bliss Perry. 

Second Paper : By 

Subject: Oliver Wendell Holmes. 

a. Biographical facts in the life of Holmes. 

b. Holmes as a humorist. 

c. Holmes as a writer of “society verse.” 

Some References for this Paper: 

Morse, Oliver Wendell Holmes. 

Burton, Literary Leaders of America, pp. 204-20. 

Pattee, History of American Literature, pp. 419-28. 

Stedman, Poets of American Literature, pp. 274-87. 

Trent, History of American Literature, pp. 419-28. 

Wendell, Literary History of America, pp. 407-24. 

Cambridge History of American Literature, pp. 224-242. vol. 2. 

Third Paper: By 

Subject: James Russell Lowell. 

a. Biographical facts in the life of Lowell. 

b. Lowell’s versatility. 

c. Lowell’s poetry. 

1. Humorous. 

2. Critical. 

3. Satirical. 

4. Nature in Lowell’s poetry. 

5. An apprecation of representative poems such as: A Vision of Sir 

Launfal, The Harvard Commemoration Ode, and The First 
Snowfall. 

Some References for this Paper: 

Greenslet, Ferris, James Russell Lowell: His Life and Work. 

Burton, Literary Leaders of America, pp. 241-63. 

Macy, Spirit of American Literature, pp. 189-209. 

Pattee, History of American Literature, pp. 288-301. 

Stedman, Poets of America, pp. 304-48. 

Trent, History of American Literature, pp. 429-52. 

Wendell, Literary History of America, pp. 393-406. 

Scribner’s Magazine, vol. 41 : pp. 220-35, Feb. 1907, Lowell, by W. C. 
Brownell. 


14 


Selections from Century Readings for Group Study : 


Longfellow: A Psalm of Life , p. 242; The Wreck of the Hesperus, p. 243; 

Serenade, p. 245 ; Hiawatha, p. 250-261. 

Whittier: Maud Muller, p. 271; Skipper Ireson’s Ride, p. 273; Snow- 
Bound, p. 278. 

Holmes: The Last Leaf, p. 283; Deacon's Masterpiece, p. 302; The Voice- 
less, p. 303; The Boys, p. 303. 

Lowell: To the Dandelion, p. 386; Biglow Papers, pp. 387-390 and pp. 
397-402; Harvard Commemoration Ode, pp. 404-406. 




15 


FIFTH MEETING 


Date Place 

General Topic: Some American Humorists. 

American humor in the last sixty years manifests, perhaps, 
more native zest and greater originality than any other of the 
classifications into which the literature of a nation is usually 
divided. There had been humor before this, but it had usually 
been sectional or servile in its limitations of European models. 
With the Civil War a national form of humor developed which 
was largely the work of young easterners who had gone to the 
new life of the West and there uncovered veins as rich in wit 
as those of California were in gold. 

First Paper: By 

Subject : "Artemus Ward" and "Bill Arp." 

a. Biographical facts in the life of “Artemus Ward” (Charles Farrar 

Browne) and “Bill Arp” (Charles Henry Smith). 

b. The humorous element in their work. 

1. Characteristic qualities, — exaggeration, spelling, etc. 

2. Local color. 

3. Contemporary interests presented. 

Some References for this Paper: 

The most valuable source for preparing this paper will be the books of 
these two men, but the following references may prove suggestive: 
Pattee, History of American Literature Since 1870, pp. 25-43. 

Trent, History of American Literature, pp. 515-36. 

Cambridge History of American Literature, vol. II, book II, chap. XIX, 
pp. 148-160. 

Bookman, vol. 21 : pp. 584-9, August 1905, Some American Humorists, by 
Joel Benton. 

Century, vol. 63, pp. 45-64, November 1901, Retrospect of American Humor, 
by W. P. Trent. 

Second Paper : By 

Subject : "Josh Billings" and "Petroleum V. Nasby." 

a. Biographical facts in the life of “Josh Billings” (Henry Wheeler Shaw) 

and “Petroleum V. Nasby” (David Ross Locke). 

b. The humorous element in their work. 


16 


1. Characteristic qualities, — exaggeration, spelling, aphorism, etc. 

2. Local color. 

3. Contemporary interests presented. 

References for this Paper as Cited for First Paper. 

Third Paper: By 

Subject: ''Mark Twain." 

a. Biographical facts in the life of “Mark Twain” (Samuel Langhorne 

Clemens). 

1. Boyhood and life on the Mississippi. 

2. Travels. 

b . His vein of humor. 

c. His significance to American literature. 

Some References for this Paper: 

“Mark Twain,” Innocents Abroad, Life on the Mississippi, Tom Sawyer, 
Huckleberry Finn. 

Paine, Mark Twain, a Biography. 

Macy, Spirit of American Literature, pp. 248-77. 

Pattee, History of American Literature Since 1870, pp. 45-62. 

Harper’s Magazine, vol. 118: pp. 948-55, May 1909, Mark Twain, by 
Archibald Henderson. 

Harper’s Magazine, vol. 121 : pp. 165-78, 340-8, 512-29, July-Sept. 1910. 

“My Memories of Mark Twain ” by W. D. Howells. 

Outlook, vol. 87: pp. 648-53, Nov. 23, 1907. Mark Twain the Humorist, by 
W. W. Mabie. 

Selections from Century Readings for Group Study: 

The work of these men as presented pp. 579-611. 


17 


3 


SIXTH MEETING 


Date Place 

General Topic : Two Poets of the South. 

In Poe and Lanier the South presented to American literature 
two poets whose contributions have been unique: Poe is, in the 
strict sense of the term, our greatest poetic genius, while Lanier 
in his musical melodies advanced a new theory of the essential 
unity of sound and sense in verse. 

First Paper: By 

Subject: Poe the Man. 

More difficulties beset the student who would arrive at a just understand- 
ing of Poe’s life and character than is the case with any other 
American writer. The facts of the case have been clouded by much 
partisan writing on both sides. To treat this question fairly, the 
student should weigh several estimates for himself. 

a. Biographical facts in the life of Poe. 

1. Birth, boyhood, and youth. 

2. His work in various places. 

b. The personality of Poe. 

Some References for this Paper: 

Woodberry, George E., Edgar Allan Poe, American Men of Letters Series. 
Cambridge History of American Literature, vol. II, book II, Chap. XIV, 
pp. 55-69, article by Killis Campbell. 

Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., article on Poe, by D. Hannay. 

Ingram, J. H., Edgar Allan Poe: His Life, Letters, and Opinions. 

There is a great wealth of magazine literature on Poe; for an extensive 
bibliography see the last pages of the Cambridge History of Amer- 
ican Literature, vol. II. 

Second Paper : By 

Subject: Poe the Poet. 

The best approach to a brief study of Poe’s poetry is through his own 
statement of his beliefs and his efforts. The two essays in which 
he most definitely stated these principles should be studied to afford 
an introduction to this paper. The essays are: The Philosophy of 
Composition and the Poetic Principle. They will be found in any 
complete edition of Poe. 


18 


a. Poe’s theories of composition. 

(Based on essays cited above.) 

b. Application of these principles to characteristic poems: (It would be 

well to consider in this connection : The Raven, Annabel Lee, The 
Bells, Eulalie, Ulalume.) 

Some References for this Paper: 

Stedman, Poets of America, pp. 225-72. 

Mims, Sidney Lanier. 

Pattee, History of American Literature, pp. 172-82. 

Trent, History of American Literature, pp. 366-83. 

Wendell, Literary History of America, pp. 204-18. 

Woodberry, Edgar Allan Poe. 

Macy, Spirit of American Literature, pp. 123-54. 

Scribner’s Magazine, vol. 45 : pp. 69-84, Jan. 1909. Article by Brownell. 
Cambridge History of American Literature. (See reference for first paper.) 

Third Paper: By 

Subject: Sidney Lanier. 

a. Biographical facts in the life of Lanier. 

b. Lanier’s theory of the relation of music to poetry. 

In illustration of this doctrine it would be well to read The Symphony 
in which poem Lanier applies his principle in such a way as to let 
us hear the violin, clarinet, horn, bassoon, etc., through metrical 
effects. Another good example of this is to be found in the Song 
of the Chattahoochee. 

c. Lanier as a poet of the South. 

Poems to be studied in this regard are: The Marshes of Glynn; Tampa 
Robins; From the Flats; Song of the Chattahoochee, Sunrise. 

Some References for this Paper: 

Lanier, Sidney, Poems. 

Baskerville, Southern Writers, vol. 1, pp. 137-298. 

Pattee, History of American Literature Since 1870, pp. 274-88. 

Stedman, Poets of America, pp. 449-51. 

Wendell, Literary History of America, pp. 495-9. 

Burton, Literary Leaders of America, pp. 296-309. 

Macy, Spirit of American Literature, pp. 309-23. 

Cambridge History of American Literature, vol. II, book III, chap. IV, 
pp. 331-346. 

Mims, Sidney Lanier. 

Selections from Century Readings for Group Study : 

All of the Lanier poetry, pp. 729-731. 

Note : Any group which wishes to carry further its consideration of 
southern poets may be interested in this additional programme : 

First paper: Henry Timrod. 

Second paper : Paul Hamilton Hayne. 

Third paper : John Banister Tabb. 


19 


SEVENTH MEETING 


Date Place 

General Topic : Walt Whitman. 

No single figure in American literature so easily prompts a 
controversy as to the merit of his work as does Walt Whitman; 
and, probably, no single author in our literature has brought so 
much individuality to his writing. Any thorough discussion of 
Whitman, by more than two people, is likely to resolve itself into 
a debate. Indeed, any group considering the poet of Leaves of 
Grass ought, it seems, to take full advantage of this personal 
reaction. What is poetry? What is the province of poetry? Is 
there a single form or language for the art? Such questions as 
these are sure to arise and may well be discussed informally. 

First Paper: By 

Subject: Walt Whitman, the Man. 

a. Biographical facts in the life of Whitman. 

1. Birth and early environment. 

2. Early life in and around New York. 

3. His activities during the War between the States. 

b. Personality and individuality. 

Some References for this Paper: 

Perry, Walt Whitman; His Life and Works. 

Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Canada. 

Carpenter, Walt Whitman. 

Pattee, History of American Literature Since 1870 , pp. 163-85. 

Trent, History of American Literature, pp. 480-96. 

Wendell, Literary History of America, pp. 465-79. 

Stedman, Poets of America, pp. 296-302. 

Burton, Literary Leaders of America, pp. 264-95. 

Cambridge History of American Literature, vol. II, book III, chap. I, 
pp. 258-274. 

Second Paper: By 

Subject: Whitman, Poet of Democracy. 

a. The sense of comradeship. 

b. Nobility of manhood presented. 


20 


“In Leaves of Grass ,” said Whitman, “my intention has been, among the 
rest, to put on record a complete individual, make a clean breast of 
it, give a true picture of the nineteenth century man. . 

c. Democracy in his poetry. 

Comradeship, nobility of man, democracy — all are closely allied in Whit- 
man. Any one presupposes the others. The range of poetry to 
illustrate this reading of Whitman’s is as large as Leaves of Grass, 
but the following poems are perhaps most representative of this 
subject : 

Salut au Monde; For You O Democracy ; Recorders Ages Hence; Cross- 
ing Brooklyn Ferry; I Saw in Louisiana; The Prairie-Grass Divid- 
ing; When I Peruse the Conquer’d Fame; I Dream’ d a Dream; The 
Wound-Dresser; Base of All Metaphysics ; Give Me the Splendid 
Silent Sun; Long, Too Long America; Thou Mother With Thy Equal 
Brood. 

d. Industrialism in Whitman’s poetry : 

Whitman approximated fairly closely the poet for whom Kipling asked 
in his “God send a man like Bobbie Burns to sing the song of 
steam.” Factories, smokestacks, ships, bridges, working-girls, masons, 
carpenters, cotton, wheat, corn, lumber-yards, — all these he sings. 
The following poems will repay study: Brooklyn Ferry; 0 Magnet 
South; Pioneers, 0 Pioneers; To a Locomotive in Winter. 

Third Paper: By 

Subject : The Philosophy of Whitman. 

a. Whitman’s conception of divinity. 

Some one has said that Whitman “is the only man who has absolutely 
known that man is an indivisible fragment of universal divinity.” 
Typical poems for study are : Passage to India; Miracles; Assur- 
ances; My 71st Year; Darest Thou Now 0 Soul ; On the Beach at 
Night; Full of Life Now; To One Shortly to Die . 

b. Whitman’s conception of Nature. 

Here Whitman’s optimism is perhaps more obvious than elsewhere al- 
though it is in this spirit that all of his work is written. His debt to 
the transcendentalists of New England, particularly Emerson, is 
largely reponsible for this beneficent concept of Nature. Rep- 
resentative poems for study are: There Was a Child Went Forth; 
Song of the Open Road; Myself and Mine. 

c. Whitman’s attitude towards Death. 

Death was, to Whitman, a welcome admission to companionship with The 
Great Comrade. Poems illustrative of this phase are: Assurances; 
(the song of the bird in) When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d; 
Whisper of Heavenly Death; Joy, Shipmate, Joy!; Death’s Valley; 
Youth, Day, Old Age and Night. 


21 


Selections from Century Readings for Group Study: 

All of the Whitman passages pp. 476-503. In order to get at different 
angles of the poet’s thought and manner it would be well to obtain 
a copy of Leaves of Grass to read at leisure. 

Note: If interest in Whitman warrants it, another meeting might well 
be given to the poet with papers on such subjects as these: 

First paper: The Americanism of Whitman. 

Second paper: Whitman’s prose. 

Third paper : Is Whitman a poet ? 


EIGHTH MEETING 


Date Place 

General Topic : Lafcadio Hearn. 

If it is proper to claim for American literature a man who 
was born in Greece of an Irish soldier father and a Grecian 
mother, who spent his boyhood in Ireland, France, and England, 
lived a few years of his young manhood in America, and then 
became a citizen of Japan, even taking the Japanese name of Koi- 
zumi Yakumo and adopting the Buddhist faith, then, if that man 
belongs to America, it is fitting that American literature should 
take cognizance of the style and charm of Lafcadio Hearn. 

First Paper: By 

Subject: The Life of Lafcadio Hearn. 

a. Ancestry, boyhood, and education. 

b. His years in America. 

1. Newspaper work. 

2. Travels in American Tropics. 

c. His life in Japan. 

1. Teaching. 

2. Marriage. 

3. Manner of gathering Japanese material. 

4. His death. 

Some References for this Paper: 

Bisland, Elizabeth : Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn. 

Bisland, Elizabeth: Japanese Letters of Lafcadio Hearn. 

Bisland, Elizabeth: In Harper’s, April, 1921, Some Additional Letters of 
Lafcadio Hearn. 

Atlantic Monthly, vol. 119, pp. 349-51, March 17, Last Days of Lafcadio 
Hearn. 

Second Paper : By 

Subject: Hearn's American Work. 

a. Romance in Hearn’s writing. 

b. Hearn as an impressionist. 

1. Importance of color and sound. 


23 


Some References for this Paper: 

Hearn: Chita. 

Hearn : Fantastics. 

Hearn: Two Years in the French West Indies. 

Third Paper: By 

Subject: Hearn as an Interpreter of Japan. 

a. Hearn’s sympathy with Japanese mysticism. 

b. His estimate of the Japanese character. 

c. As a writer of narration. 

d. Hearn as a stylist. 

Some References for this Paper: 

Any of Hearn’s Japanese work may be drawn on for this paper, but the 
following volumes will offer plenty of representative material : 
Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation (the most deliberate and 
serious effort Hearn ever made in this field) ; Glimpses of Unfamiliar 
Japan; Out of the East ; Kwaidan, Exotics and Retrospectives, Some 
Chinese Ghosts (contains one story,) The Casting of the Bell, which 
is particularly representative of Hearn’s style in folk-lore and fiction. 

Note: The Life and Letters by Miss Bisland listed in the references for 
the first paper will offer valuable material for all of these papers. 
One would do well, too, to see Hearn’s Interpretations of Literature 
a series of lectures delivered by Hearn before his classes in literature 
at the Imperial University in Tokyo. 

Selections from Century Readings for Group Study : 

Chita, pp. 798-810. 


24 


NINTH MEETING 


Date Place 

General Topic : The American Novel. 

Not even the optimism of Pollyanna would permit one to 
hope to cover so broad a field as the American novel in one meet- 
ing — or a dozen. The following program is little more than 
suggestive; those who prepare these papers should read rather 
widely in their particular subjects and then condense in the way 
best suited to the particular situation to be met. The geographical 
division is artificial, but so would be any classification which 
might be attempted. If time affords, each of these papers may 
be sub-divided and the subject for the paper given the time of a 
whole meeting. In this case special reviews of the different 
books may be assigned to individual members. 

First Paper: By 

Subject: Novels of the West. 

Under this head will fall such authors and novels as : 

Wister, The Virginian; Helen Hunt Jackson, Romona; Garland, Captain 
of the Gray Horse Troop, A Son of the Middle Border ; Norris, 
McTeague, The Octopus, The Pit; London, The Call of the Wild, 
Smoke Bellew; Tarkington, The Gentleman from Indiana; Churchill, 
The Crossing. 

a. Characteristics of Western life presented. 

(A suggestion of the subject matter of these stories would be useful 
as a guide to reading.) 

1. The Western spirit and ideals. 

2. Problems which interest the writers. 

b. Settings. 

( A brief statment of the scene for several of these books.) 

c. An appreciation and detailed review of one of the novels. 

Second Paper: By 

Subject: Novels of the East. 

This paper should include consideration of as many of these novels as is 
possible: Cooper, The Spy, The Last of the Mohicans; Holmes, 
Elsie Venner; Howells, A Modern Instance, Rise of Silas Lapham, 
Indian Summer; Wharton. House of Mirth, Age of Innocence; 

25 


Margaret Deland, Awakening of Helena Richie, The Iron Woman; 
Poole, The Harbor, His Second Wife ; Irving Bacheller, Eben 
Holden ; Westcott, David Harum; Dorothy Canfield, The Brimming 
Cup. 

a. The physical background — settings. 

b. Social, political, and economic problems presented. 

(The novels listed are rich in “problems,” — divorce, socialism, com- 
mercialism, etc.). 

c. Humor. 

(Of the books suggested David Harum will offer the most here, but 
the subject is worthy of consideration, even if found lacking, in 
the other novels.) 

Third Paper: By 

Subject : Novels of the South. 

A suggestive list is: Simms, Guy Rivers, The Yemassee ; Craddock, In 
the Clouds, The Despot of Broomsedge Cove, The Mystery of Witch- 
spur Mountain; Sidney Lanier, Tiger-Lilies; Wister, Lady Balti- 
more; Cable, The Grandissimcs; Allen, A Kentucky Cardinal, The 
Choir Invisible, The Reign of Law; Fox, Little Shepherd of King- 
dom Come; Dixon, The Leopard's Spots, The Clansman. 

a. Setting and local color of these novels. 

b. Southern problems presented. 

c. The South, present and past — a contrast of the work of two such men 

as Simms and Dixon. 

Selections from Century Readings for Group Study: 
Jackson, The Senora Moreno, p. 559. 

Cooper, The Pioneers, p. Ill, The Prairies, p. 116. 

Howells, A Modern Instance, p. 660. 

Lanier, Cain Smallin, p. 725. 

Cable, “No,” p. 761. 

Simms, The Partisan, p. 229. 

Crawford, The Novel: What It Is, p. 825. 


26 


TENTH MEETING 


Date Place 

General Topic: The Short Story. 

“There is no other form of literature,” says Professor Hugh 
Walker, a distinguished British critic, “in which America is so 
eminent as in the writing of short stories. ,, Certain it is that 
it is the most popular form. For one who would presume to 
classify the types of writers the pitfalls are innumerable; there 
are almost as many classifications as there are stories. One of 
the most thoughtful comments on the short story as a form has 
been uttered by Robert Louis Stevenson. “There are,” he states, 
“so far as I know, three ways, and three ways, only, of writing 
a story. You may take a plot and fit characters to it, or you 
may take a character and choose incidents and situations to de- 
velop it, or lastly. . . . you may take a certain atmosphere 

and get actions and persons to realize and express it.” 

First Paper: By 

Subject: The Short Story Form. 

a. Its restrictions and liberties as compared to the novel. For suggestive 

references on this subject it would be well to read chapter XII of 
Bliss Perry’s “Study of Prose Fiction” (the same material appears 
in the Atlantic Monthly, August 1902) and Edgar Allan Poe’s es- 
say on The Philosophy of Prose Composition. Any of the numerous 
text-books on short story technique ought to be helpful, — these two 
perhaps particularly so: Pitkin, Short Story Writing and Clayton 
Hamilton, A Manual of the Art of Fiction. 

b. Its threefold responsibilities defined: plot, sejtting, characterization. 

For stories illustrative of these essentials study: for plot, Poe’s 
Murders in the Rue Morgue; for setting, Craddock’s Over on the 
V Other Mounting; and for characterization, Sarah Orne Jewett’s 
A Native of Winby in Century Readings. 

Second Paper: By 

Subject: Early American Story Writers. 

a. Salient facts in the biographies of 
Washington Irving. 

Nathaniel Hawthorne. 


27 


Edgar Allan Poe. 

Fitz-James O’Brien. 

b. Brief critical estimate of the work of these men together with a state- 
ment as to their significance in the development of the short story 
form. 

Third Paper: By 

Subject : The West in Short Stories. 

a. Salient facts in the biographies of 

Samuel Langhorne. 

Francis Bret Harte. 

Jack London. 

b. Brief critical estimate of the work of these men together with a state- 

ment as to their significance in the development of the short story 
form. 

Selections from Century Readings for Group Study: 

Irving: The Devil and Tom Walker, p. 85. 

Hawthorne : The Birthmark, p. 203. 

The Great Stone Face , p. 211. 

David Swan , p. 200. 

Poe: Fall of the House of Ulsher, p. 309. 

Murders in the Rue Morgue, p. 318. 

O’Brien: The Diamond Lens, p. 537. 

Clemens : The Jumping Frog, p. 608. 

Harte : The Luck of Roaring Camp, p. 615. 

London: The Night Born, p. 882. 


28 


ELEVENTH MEETING 


Date Place 

General Topic : The Short Story (Cont.) 

First Paper: By 

Subject: The Middle West in Short Stories. 

a. Salient facts in the biographies of 

Hamlin Garland. 

Constance Fenimore Woolson. 

Edna Ferber. 

Zona Gale. 

b. Brief critical estimate of the work of these writers together with a 

statement as to their significance in the development of the short 
story form. 

For stories by Edna Ferber and Zona Gale find collections published or 
consult the Readers’ Guide for references to popular magazines con- 
taining their work. 

Second Paper: By 

Subject: New England and the East in Short 
Stories. 

a. Salient facts in the biographies of 

Edward Everett Hale. 

William Dean Howells. 

Mary E. Wilkins Freeman. 

Sarah Orne Jewett. 

b. Brief critical estimate of the work of these writers together with a 

statement as to their significance in the development of the short 
story form. 

Third Paper: By 

Subject: The South in Short Stories. 

a. Salient facts in the biographies of 

Mary Noailles Mur free (Charles Egbert Craddock.) 

Joel Chandler Harris. 

William Sydney Porter (O. Henry.) 

George Washington Cable. 


29 


b. Brief critical estimate of the work of these writers together with a 
statement as to their significance in the development of the short 
story form. 

Selections from Century Readings for Group Study : 

Garland: Under the Lion's Paw, p. 855. 

Woolson: The Old Agency, p. 714. 

Hale, My Double and How He Undid Me, p. 504. 

Howells, The Mouse-Trap, p. 666. 

Freeman, The Revolt of Mother, p. 846. 

Jewett, A Native of Winby, p. 732. 

Additional reading in this group might well be done by considering the 
following: Too Late by Rose Terry Cooke and H. C. Bunner’s 
Father Anastatius in Century Readings as well the stories of such 
writers as Richard Harding Davis, Thomas Bailey Aldrich ( Mar- 
jorie Daw at least), Myra Kelly, Edith Wharton, and Fannie Hurst. 
Murfree, Over on the T’Other Mounting, p. 750. Harris, Uncle 
Remus’s Wonder Story,, p. 794. How a Witch Was Caught, p. 791. 
Porter, A Municipal Report, p. 890. 

The best examples of the stories of Cable are to be found in his collec- 
tion, Old Creole Days. Of this collection William Dean Howells 
selected Jean-Ah Poquelin as the story most representative of Cable. 

SUGGESTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY 

(Note: For a fairly complete bibliography of the American Short story 
see the Cambridge History of American Literature volume 2.) 

a. The Short Story, Critical and Historical. 

Perry, Bliss, The Short Story, Atlantic Monthly, August, 1902. Same ma- 
terial in his volume, “A Study of Prose Fiction” chapter XII. 
Houghton, Mifflin. 

Esenwein, J. B., Writing the Short Story, Home Correspondence Schools, 
Springfield, Mass. 

Pitkin, Walter B., Art and Business of Story Writing, Macmillan. 

Baker, H. T., The Contemporary Short Story, D. C. Heath. 

Hamilton, Clayton, A Manual of the Art of Fiction, Doubleday Page. 

b. Good Representative Collections : 

Howells, William Dean, “The Great Modern American Stories. An an- 
thology containing twenty-four representative stories of recent or 
contemporary writers, together with brief biographical mention, 
bibliographies, and an introduction by the compiler. 

Prise Stories, chosen by the Society of Arts and Sciences from fiction ap- 
pearing during 1919 with the purpose of awarding a five hundred 
dollar prize as a memorial to O. Henry. Contains fifteen good stories 
of 1919. Doubleday Page. 

O’Brien, Edward J. Since 1915 Mr. O’Brien has brought together the 
best stories appearing each year in one volume — “The Best Stories 
of 1915” etc. 


30 


Heydink, Americans All. Harcourt, Brace. A very good selection of 
stories showing typical phases of American life. The book also 
contains a very suggestive classification of good short stories rep- 
resentative of different sections of the country. 

For details of the life of our short story writers the two books below will 
be found very useful. Together they cover our most famous writ- 
ers in this form. 

Cooper, Some American Story Tellers , Henry Holt and Co. 

Williams, Our Short Story Writers (Contemporaries), Moffatt Yard 
and Co. 


31 


TWELFTH MEETING 


Date Place 

General Topic: The New Poetry. 

“ 'America’s poetic renascence’ is no longer a phrase ; it is a 
fact. The last few decades have witnessed a sudden and amaz- 
ing growth in the volume as well as in the quality of the work 
of our poets. A new spirit, energetic, alert, penetrative, seems 
to have stirred these states, and a countryful of writers has re- 
sponded to it.” — Louis Untermeyer. 

First Paper: By 

Subject: Our "Sociological Poets.” 

Under this heading Dr. Royster groups E. A. Robinson, Carl Sandburg, 
Vachel Lindsay, James Oppenheim, E. L. Masters, J. H. Wheelock, 
and C. E. S. Wood. 

a. Modern interests reflected in the work of these writers. 

b. Attitude towards society. 

c. Particular qualities of the individual poets. 

(This should be illustrated by specific reference to particular poems 
of some few writers.) 

Some References for this Paper: 

Anthologies of modern verse: 

Rittenhouse, Jessie, Little Book of Modern Verse. 

(This book does not restrict itself to the very modern, but covers 
the last twenty years or more. Published by Houghton, Mifflin.) 

Monroe-Henderson, The New Poetry. 

(This collection is, perhaps, the best to illustrate the ultra modern in 
poetry and includes both British and American poets. It is pub- 
lished by Macmillan.) 

Untermeyer, Modern American Poetry, (a very human collection with 
an enlightening introduction. Published by Harcourt, Brace.) 
Braithwaite, Anthology of Magazine Verse, 1920. Published by Small. 
Lowell, Amy, Tendencies in Modern American Poetry. 

(Contains a detailed account of the work of certain leaders of the 
new movement together with an interesting preface. E. A. Robin- 
son, Edgar Lee Masters, and Carl Sandburg of the “sociological” 
group are considered here. The book has the value of being the 
the work of one of the most typical figures of the movement.) 


32 


Second Paper: By 

f 

Subject: American Imagists. 

Important imagists are : Ezra Pound, Amy Lowell, “H. D.,” J. G. Fletcher, 
Adelaide Crapsey, Maxwell Bodenheim, Orrick Johns, and Alfred 
Kregmborg. 

a. Characteristics of imagist verse. 

1. Form. 

2. Thought. 

3. Diction. 

b. Estimate of the value of this poetry. 

c. Particular qualities of the individual poets illustrated by readings from 

the poetry. 

Some References for this Paper: 

Anthologies cited above. 

Lowell, Amy, Tendencies in Modern American Poetry, pp. 235-243, gives 
a good account of “H. D.” and J. G. Fletcher together with an 
explanation of the imagist doctrines. 

Third Paper: By 

Subject : Contemporary American Lyricists. 

A representative list here is : Sara Teasdale, Wytter Bynner, Joyce Kil- 
mer, Edna St. V. Milay, and Robert Frost. 
a Nature of subjects used by these poets: their relation to contemporary 
life. 

b. The part of these poets in the modern movement. 

c. Readings in illustration of the work of this group. 

References for this paper are the anthologies cited above together with 
a great deal of modern magazine articles which one will find cited 
in The Readers' Guide. 

General group reading for this paper: 

Probably the most generally useful collection for a group interested in 
this subject is the Monroe-Henderson anthology, The New Poetry, 
published by Macmillan. Those who wish to go farther with the 
question will find much work of these poets in current magazine 
literature. Poetry, A Magazine of Verse is particularly hospitable 
to new verse and a few copies or a year’s subscription would make 
very interesting reading. Current issues of the Literary Digest con- 
tain a poetry page which will prove useful. 

Below is a selected list representative of some of the poets considered in 
the programs for this meeting : 


33 


Frost, North of Boston. Henry Holt. 

Kilmer, Trees and Other Poems. George H. Doran. 

Lindsay, The Congo and Other Poems. Macmillan. 

Lowell, Sword Blades and Poppy Seed. Macmillan. 

Men, Women and Ghosts. Macmillan. 

Oppenheim, Songs for the New Age. Century. 

Robinson, The Man Against the Sky. Macmillan. 

Sandburg, Chicago Poems. Henry Holt. 

Untermeyer, Chicago. . . . and other Poems. Henry Holt. 


34 


THIRTEENTH MEETING 


Date Place 

General Topic : “Americans by Adoption” 

American literature, in recent years, has been enriched by the 
publication of various autobiographic writings of immigrants 
who have found in America something more than material wealth. 

The topic for this meeting is the title of an interesting book 
by Joseph Husband in which the author presents the lives of 
nine men who have added to the lustre of American life by 
great achievements — Stephen Girard, John Ericsson, Louis 
Agassiz, Carl Schurz, Theodore Thomas, Andrew Carnegie, 
James J. Hill, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and Jacob A. Riis. A 
review of this book might well be made an introduction to the 
papers of this meeting. 

“There are many. . . children of other lands who have 

come to the New World as learners of the modes of life and 
thought of a superior people ; who have succeeded in discovering 
America on its ideal side, and who know and love this country 
as that Commonwealth of free, enlightened, and benfcficient 
citizens.” — A. M. Rihbany in A Far Journey. 

First Paper: By 

Subject: From Syria to America. 

A. M. Rihbany’s A Far Journey is the book under consideration for this 
paper. 

a. Native environment. 

b. First experiences in America. 

c. What America means to Rihbany. 

Second Paper : By 

Subject: From Denmark to America. 

A consideration of The Making of an American by Jacob A. Riis is the 
basis for this paper. 

a. Life in Denmark. 

b. The romance of Riis’ life. 

c. Service to American society. 


35 


Third Paper: By. 


Subject : From Russia to America. 

Mary Antin’s The Promised Land offers the background for this paper. 

a. Conditions in Russia at time of Mary Antin’s emigration. 

b. Tenement life in an American city. 

c. The New Americanism. 

The Americanisation of Edward Bok by the former editor of The Ladies' 
Home Journal would afford material for a fourth paper from an 
additional point of view — that of the Hollander. 

Collier’s for November, 1915, contains an excellent short story, The Cit- 
izen, by James Francis Dwyer. This story will serve to make clear 
a certain phase of Americanization in a way that hours of talk 
could never do. 


36 


FOURTEENTH MEETING 


Date Place 

General Topic : Contemporary Books of Travel. 

Recent years have brought something new in the way of 
travel books : unconventional and informal, these new volumes 
concern themselves particularly with the “human interest” ap- 
peal and give us delightful glimpses into out-of-the-way places, 
glimpses which are as effective as the romance of Dumas in their 
ability to make us lose ourselves. 

First Paper: By 

Subject: Vagabonding With Harry A. Franck. 

a. Franck’s method of travel. 

b. Countries described in his books. 

c. Some “human interest” situations. 

1. Anecdotes quoted and passages read to show the “atmosphere” of 
the books. 

Some References for this Paper: 

Such of the Franck books as: A Vagabond Journey Around the World, 
Vagabonding Down the Andes, Roaming Through the West Indies, 
Tramping Through Mexico, Zone Policeman 88, “ The Prince of 
Vagabonds,” Harry A. Franck, pamphlet issued by Century Co. 

Second Paper: By 

Subject: Abroad With a Naturalist. 

a. A brief sketch of William Charles Beebe, his life and work. 

b. Beebe as a naturalist. 

c. Descriptive passages of power. 

d. An estimate of the charm of his writing. 

Some References for this Paper: 

Beebe’s one volume of popular work is Jungle Peace but he has been pub- 
lishing papers of a similar interest in the Atlantic and Harper’s for 
the past few years which ought to be considered in this connection. 

Third Paper: By 

Subject: In the South Seas. 

a. Geography of the South Seas with particular mention of places referred 
to in this paper. 


37 


b. Life in the South Seas. 

1. Manners and customs. 

2. Social institutions. 

3. Adventure. 

c. Nature in the South Seas. 

Some References for this Paper: 

O’Brien, Frederick, White Shadows in the South Seas. 

O’Brien, Frederick, Mystic Isles of the South Seas. 

1921 issues of Harpers Magazine contain interesting articles on the same 
general locality by James Norman Hall and Charles Nordhoff. 

A Booklet Telling Who He Is, Frederick O’Brien, issued by Century Co. 
Additional suggestions : It is possible that some group may wish to ar- 
range for a fourth paper on “Seeing America through Travel 
Books.” The following bibliography will prove suggestive : 

Johnson, Clifton, Highways and By-ways series, St. Lawrence to Virginia, 
of California, of New England, of Great Lakes, of the Mississippi 
Valley, of the Pacific Coast, of the Rocky Mountains, of the South. 
Hale, Louise Closser, We Discover New England, We Discover The Old 
Dominion. 


38 


FIFTEENTH MEETING 


Date Place 

(general Topic: Contemporary Literary Magazines. 

The history of the publication of our literary magazines par- 
allels closely the development of American literature. To know 
just what these magazines have done, to follow their vicissitudes 
and victories, to see the reputations they have made, for them- 
selves and their contributors, is the responsibility of these papers. 

Some references on magazines in general (with specific mention of the 
publications here considered) are : 

The Bookman, a series on The Magazine in America; vol. 40, p. 659; 

vol. 41, pp. 138-284-369-521-620; vol. 42, pp. 59-135-288-396. 

The Bookman, Notes on Some American Magazine Editors, December 1900. 
The Bookman, The Magazine from the Inside, vol. 41, p. 251, May, 1915. 
The Outlook, vol. 117, p. 50, Sept. 12, 1917. Some American Periodicals 
by Brander Matthews. 

Cambridge History of American Literature, vol. Ill, book III, Chap, xix, 
p. 299. 

First Paper : By 

Subect: THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY . 

a. The roll of Atlantic editors. 

b. Famous contributors and their work for the Atlantic. 

c. An estimate of the magazine : 

1. Tone of the publication as a whole. 

2. Type of fiction used. 

3. Essays. 

4. The Contributors’ Club. 

Some References for this Paper: 

By all means use The Atlantic itself. A study of the index for various 
years will be very suggestive. The Atlantic Monthly Press (Boston) 
published a small book The Atlantic Monthly and Its Makers which 
will be very helpful. One should also see an article by a former 
editor, Bliss Perry, in the issue of January 1903. 

Second Paper : By 

Subject: SCRIBNER’S MAGAZINE . 

a. The history of Scribner’s Magazine. 

1. Editors. 


39 


2. Contributors. 

3. Artists. 

b. Exploration and Adventure in Scribner’s. 

c. A general estimate of the magazine. 

(A good way to present this would be to examine a current issue for: 
art, fiction, verse, and informational articles. Try to distinguish 
Scribner’s from the other literary publications). 

Some References for this Paper: 

Scribner’s Magazine itself. 

Twenty-five Years of Scribner’s Magazine, — a pamphlet issued in 1912 by 
Charles Scribner’s Sons. See also Scribner’s Monthly, Nov. 1870, 
vol. xxii, p. 302, which presents a history of the origin of the mag- 
azine by J. G. Holland. 

Third Paper: By 

Subject : HARPER’S MONTHLY MAGAZINE. 

a. History of the House of Harper. 

b. The magazine and its editors. 

c. Notable fiction published. 

d. A general estimate of Harper’s Magazine. 

1. Class of readers attracted. 

2. Prominent contributors to the magazine. 

3. Essays and articles. 

Some References for this Paper: 

Harper, J. Henry, The House of Harper (Harpers). 

Harper’s Magazine, vol. 100, p. 947. Fifty Years of Harper’s Magazine. 
Harper’s Magazine, vol. 121, p. 38. An Anniversary Retrospect. 

Harper’s Magazine, June 1917, Editor’s Easy Chair. 

Note: It is possible to lose oneself in a mass of bewildering detail in 
these papers. By far the most value will be gained if the em- 
phasis is placed on current issues of the publications with re- 
views and estimates. 


40 


SIXTEENTH MEETING 


Date Place 

general Topic: Contemporary Literary Magazines (Cont.) 

First Paper: By 

Subject: THE CENTURY MAGAZINE. 

a. History of the Century. 

1. Editors. 

2. Contributors. 

b. Distinctive contributions of the magazine to American literature. 

c. Art in the Century. 

d. The quality of the Century, an estimate. 

Some References for this Paper: 

Current issues of the magazine. 

The Century, vol. 19, p. 87 (1890) The Printing of the Century. 
vol. 81, pp. 131-50 Forty Years of this Magazine. 
vol. 81, pp. 151-4 A Retrospect of “ The Century .” 
vol. 86, pp. 789-91 The Spirit of “ The Century.” 

Second Paper : By 

Subject: The Reviews. 

Publications which might well be considered here are : The Review, The 
Nation, The New Republic, The Independent, The Outlook, North 
American Review, Review of Reviews, Unpartizan Review, Yale 
Review. 

a. A brief characterization of some of these publications. 

b. The book reviews in these magazines. 

1. Function of reviews. 

2. Kinds of books considered. 

3. A suggestive list of current reading culled from these reviews. 

c. The reviews as an index to contemporary life. 

(A consideration of current social, literary, economic, and political 
problems presented in recent issues.) 

References for this Paper : 

Current issues of the publications themselves. 

(It would be w r ell to have specimen copies of these magazines in 
hand for. display after consideration of the paper.) 


41 


Third Paper: By 

Subject : American Magazines of Verse. 

While the printing of verse in magazines is as old as magazines themselves, 
the publication of magazines devoted entirely to poetry and related 
questions is a fairly recent development in our literature. 

Magazines to be studied in this connection are : 

Poetry : A Magazine of Verse, single copies 25 cents — 543 Cass Street, 
Chicago. 

The Measure: A Journal of Poetry, by Frank Shay, 4 Christopher Street, 
New York. 

Poet-Lore: A Magazine of Letters, single copies $1.50. 194 Boylston 

Street, Boston, Massachusetts. 

a. What these magazines are doing. 

1. Their relation to “The New Poetry.” 

2. Conventional verse. 

3. The poetic drama. 

b. An estimate of this current verse as to 

1. Style. 

2. Subject matter. 

Note: This paper might well take as a starting point the conclusions 
reached in the program on “The New Poetry.” 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


In this list no attempt has been made to include all the books 
referred to in the course of study but the most important ones 
cited throughout the work are included. Each group, though not 
necessarily each individual, ought to have ready access to the few 
books indicated by a star (*). 

The text book for the course is Century Readings in American 
Literature, edited by Fred Lewis Pattee, published by the Century 
Company, New York. The bulk of the work in this course is 
grouped around this book as a text and every person following 
these programs of study should own this volume. 

Allen, J. L., A Kentucky Cardinal, N. Y., Macmillan, 1912. 

Allen, J. L., The Choir Invisible, N. Y., Grosset, 1906. 

Allen, J. L., The Reign of Law, N. Y., Macmillan, 1900. 

Antin, Mary, The Promised Land, Boston, Houghton, 1912. 

Bacheller, I. A., Eben Holden, Boston, Lothrop, 1900. 

Beebe, W. C, Jungle Peace, N. Y., Holt, 1918. 

Bok, E. W., The Americanisation of Edward Bok, N. Y., Scribners, 1920. 
Braithwaite, W. S. B., Anthology of Magazine Verse, N. Y., Small, 1920. 
Burroughs, John, Wake-Robin, Boston, Houghton, 1899. 

Burroughs, John, Locusts and Wild Honey, Boston, Houghton, 1907. 
Burroughs, John, Birds and Poets, Boston, Houghton, 1877. 

*Burton, R. E., Literary Leaders of America, N. Y., Scribner, 1904. 
Bisland, Elizabeth, Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn, Boston, Houghton, 
1906. 

Bisland, Elizabeth, Japanese Letters of Lafcadio Hearn, Boston, Houghton, 
1910. 

Cable, G. W., The Grandissimcs, N. Y., Scribner, 1887. 

Cable, G. W., Cambridge History of American Literature, N. Y., Putnam, 
1917. 

Carpenter, G. R., John Greenleaf Whittier, Boston, Houghton, 1903. 

Cooper, F. T., Some American Story Tellers, N. Y., Holt, 1911. 

Deland, Margaret, The Iron Woman, N. Y., Harper, 1911. 

Erskine, John, Leading American Novelists, N. Y., Holt, 1910. 

Esenwein, J. B., Writing the Short Story, N. Y., Hinds, Noble, 1909. 
Franck, H. A., A Vagabond Journey Around the World, N. Y., Century, 
1910. 

Franck, H. A., Vagabonding Down the Andes, N. Y., Century, 1917. 
Franck, H. A., Roaming Through the West Indies, N. Y., Century, 1920. 
Franck, H. A., Tramping Through Mexico, N. Y., Century, 1916. 

Franck, H. A., Zone Policeman 88, N. Y., Century, 1916. 

Frost, Robert, North of Boston, N. Y., Holt, 1915. 


43 


Frothingham, O. B., Transcendentalism in New England, N. Y., Putnam, 
1876. 

Garland, Hamlin, A Son of the Middle Border, N. Y., Macmillan, 1917. 
Garland, Hamlin, Main Travelled Roads, N. Y., Macmillan, 1903. 

Goddard, H. C., Studies in New England Transcendentalism, N. Y., 
Columbia U. Press, 1908. 

Greenslet, Ferris, James Russell Lowell: His Life and Work, Boston, 
Houghton, 1905. 

Hamilton, Clayton, A Manual of the Art of Fiction, Garden City, N. Y., 
Doubleday, 1918. 

Hearn, Lafcadio, Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation, N. Y., Macmillan, 
1904. 

Hearn, Lafcadio, Out of the East, Boston, Houghton, 1895. 

Hearn, Lafcadio, Kawaidan, Boston, Houghton, 1904. 

Hearn, Lafcadio, Exotics and Retrospectives, Boston, Little, 1898. 
Higginson, T. W., Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Boston, Houghton, 1902. 
Higginson, T. W., John Greenleaf Whittier, N. Y., Macmillan, 1902. 
Johnson, Clifton, Highways and By-ways Series, N. Y., Macmillan, 1904. 
Kilmer, Joyce, Memoirs, Poems, Essays, etc., N. Y., Doran, 1918. 

Lanier, Sidney, Poems, N. Y., Scribner, 1892. 

♦Long, A. W., American Literature, Boston, Heath, 1917. 

Lowell, Amy, Tendencies in Modern American Poetry, N. Y., Macmillan, 
1917. 

Lowell, Amy, Sword Blades and Poppy Seed, N. Y., Macmillan, 1916. 
Lowell, Amy, Men, Women and Ghosts, N. Y., Macmillan, 1916. 

Macy, J. A., Spirit of American Literature, Garden City, N. Y., Doubleday, 

1917. 

Mims, Edwin, Sidney Lanier, Boston, Houghton, 1905. 

More, P. E., The Solitude of Hawthorne, (Shelburne Essays), N. Y., 
Putnam, 1904. 

Muir, John, The Story of My Boyhood and Youth, Boston, Houghton, 
1913. 

Muir, John, The Mountains of California, N. Y., Century, 1917. 

O’Brien, Frederick, White Shadows in the South Seas, N. Y., Century, 1919. 
Oppenheim, James, Songs for the New Age, N. Y., Century, 1916. 

♦Pattee, F. L., History of American Literature Since 1870, N. Y., Century, 
1917. 

♦Pattee, F. L., Century Readings in Amercian Literature , N. Y., Century, 
1921. 

Perry, Bliss, Walt Whitman, His Life and Works, Boston, Houghton, 1906. 
Rihbany, A. M., A Far Journey, Boston, Houghton, 1914. 

Riis, J. A., The Making of an American, N. Y., Macmillan, 1913. 
Rittenhouse, Jessie, Little Book of Modern Verse, Boston, Houghton, 1913. 
Salt, H. S., Life of Henry David Thorcau, London, W. Scott, 1896. 
Sandburg, Carl, Chicago Poems. N. Y., Holt, 1916. 

Scribner’s Sons, Editors of pamphlet, Twenty-Five Years of Scribner’s 
Magazine, N. Y., Scribner, 1912. 


44 


*Stedman, E. C., Poets of America, Boston, Houghton, 1913. 

Swift, Lindsay, Brook Farm, N. Y., Macmillan, 1908. 

Thoreau, H. D.. Walden, Boston, Houghton, 1880. 

Traubel, Horace, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Boston, Small, 1906. 

*Trent, W. P., History of American Literature, N. Y., Appleton, 1903. 

Untermeyer, Louis, Modern American Poetry, N. Y., Harcourt, 1919. 

*Wendell, Barrett, Literary History of America, N. Y., Scribner, 1900. 

Whitman, Walt, Leaves of Grass, Philadelphia, McKay, 1884. 

Williams, B. C., Our Short Story Writers, N. Y., Moffat, 1920. 

SOME OF THE MAGAZINES REFERRED TO IN 
THE STUDY COURSE 

The Atlantic Monthly, Rumford Building, Concord, N. H. Monthly, 
$5.00 per year ; 40 cents single copy. 

The Bookman, George H. Doran, New York City. Monthly, $4.00 per 
year ; 40 cents single copy. 

The Century Magazine, Concord, N. H. Monthly, $5.00 per year; 50 cents 
single copy. 

Collier’s Weekly, P. F. Collier & Son, 416 West 13 Street, New York 
City. Weekly, $2.50 per year, 5 cents single copy. 

Harper’s Magazine, Harper & Brothers, New York City. Monthly, $5.00 
per year ; 45 cents single copy. 

The Literary Digest, Funk & Wagnalls Co., New York City. Weekly, 
$4.00 per year; 10 cents single copy. 

The New Republic, The Republic Publishing Co., Inc., 421 West 21 Street, 
New York City. Weekly, $5.00 per year; 15 cents single copy. 

The North American Review, Rumford Building, Concord, N. H. Monthly, 
$5.00 per year; 50 cents single copy. 

The Outlook, The Outlook Publishing Co., 381 Fourth Avenue, New York 
City. Weekly, $5.00 per year; 15 cents single copy. 

Scribner’s Magazine, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York City. Monthly, 
$4.00 per year; 35 cents single copy. 

The Unpartizan Review, Henry Holt & Co., 19 West 44 Street, New York 
City. Quarterly, $3.00 per year ; 75 cents single copy. 

The Yale Review, Yale Publishing Association, Inc., New Haven, Connecti- 
cut. Quarterly, $3.00 per year; 75 cents single copy. 


45 


STUDIES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE 

TERMS FOR THE COURSE 

The program, Studies in American Literature, is based on 
Pattee’s Century Readings for a Course in American Literature. 
Other books referred to throughout the course will be loaned by 
the University Library to registered clubs. The registration for 
this course is $5.00, for which ten copies of the program and 
one copy of Pattee’s Century Readings are furnished. 

Additional copies of the program may be obtained for fifty 
cents apiece and additional copies of Pattee’s Century Readings 
may be obtained for $3.00. 

THE LOAN OF BOOKS 

Books and other materials for this course will be loaned by 
the Bureau of Extension upon the following terms : The club 
must first register and pay the required fee. Requisition blanks 
for reference books will be sent to the secretary of each club. 
These must be filled out and returned when material is needed. 

The secretary should order the books at least two weeks 
before they are to be used. Requests for books by return mail 
will be attended to, but no guarantee is made that they will reach 
their destination in time to be of use. 

Books and other material ilmst be returned in two weeks 
from the date they are issued, which is stamped on the book 
pocket on the first page of the book. The club is subject to a 
fine of five cents a day on each package of books kept over two 
weeks. Upon request, the time on books will be extended one 
week. 

Transportation charges both ways are borne by the club. 
This may be reduced if material for each meeting is sent to one 
person rather than to each person on the program. 

Address all correspondence concerning this program to : 

Women’s Clubs Division, 

Bureau of Extension, 
University of North Carolina, 

Chapel Hill, N. C. 


46 


CLUB MEMBERS 



47 



3\3 L 1 1 



